


In The Bleak Midwinter

by a_lanart



Series: With Friends Like These [11]
Category: Dresden Files - All Media Types, Dresden Files - Jim Butcher, Highlander: The Series, The Dresden Files (TV series)
Genre: Community: consci_fan_mo, Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-21
Updated: 2009-11-21
Packaged: 2017-10-03 12:17:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_lanart/pseuds/a_lanart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter Solstice in McAnally's pub brings an unexpected visitor</p>
            </blockquote>





	In The Bleak Midwinter

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers: None. Set Some time After Blood rites in the DF book verse, but this is a crossover of sorts with the tv verse just to confuse things.  
> Disclaimer: Jim Butcher owns the Dresden Files, Davis/Panzer owns Highlander  
> Title from one of my favourite Christmas Carols

~*~

In the Bleak Midwinter

*

Winter Solstice; the longest night, the shortest day. The time of year when so many cultures celebrate the return of light into the world. And where was I? Well, I was celebrating in my own way, in a basement pub that welcomed waifs and strays and the odd wizard as long as they could pay for their beer. Actually, the odd wizard was welcomed even when he couldn't pay for his beer but that was because the owner had the luxury of time on his side when it came to waiting for money.

I smiled into my beer, Mouse a reassuring weight against my leg as he leaned determinedly against me. I had actually managed to pay off my tab at McAnally's in full for the first time in goodness knows how long, and even put some extra toward times when cashflow became a more immediate problem. Consequently, McAnally was more than happy to keep the beer flowing for one of his more frequent customers, and that meant I was happy too; downright mellow in fact. McAnally's is a good place to cut loose when you're a wizard; it's designed to break up the flow of antagonistic energies, magical and otherwise, and the fact that there is a significant lack of complex technology means you don't have to keep yourself as tightly leashed as you might elsewhere in fear that you might make something explode. The fact that the guy is more than likely going to live forever doesn't exactly hurt either, though I think I'm the only one of his *regular* customers who knows that. Sometimes I wish I didn't as I still find the whole immortal thing downright weird and McAnally never used to fit in to my classification of weird until a certain person turned up in Butters' morgue. Maybe I'm just lucky that way.

I looked up to share my observation with Mac and surprised a kind of listening expression on his face. I didn't miss the tightening round his eyes or the quick glance at Mouse sitting quietly beside me. The comforting beat of Mouse's tail on the floor seemed to reassure him, and the tension eased from his face. I wondered what had been the cause when the door to the bar opened, accompanied by a blast of Chicago winter. Okay, maybe that should be *who* had been the cause as I realised where I had seen that expression before. I looked over my shoulder, and grinned. I'd last seen the exact same look on the face of the person who was making their way across the floor as if all the tables and pillars didn't exist. He didn't grab one of the 13 stools at the bar, but leaned against it and nodded in greeting.

"McAnally. Harry."

"Adam." I acknowledged. McAnally said nothing, but placed a bottle of beer on the bar. With a grin, Adam Pierson hefted the bottle and took a healthy swig.

"God I needed that," he said after he returned the bottle to the bar top. "I'd forgotten just how much I loathe Chicago in the winter. It's good to see you two though. And your new friend." The last he directed to Mouse, still sitting beside me.

"This is Mouse, he adopted me rather than go back to Tibet."

"Probably because he knew you needed looking after." Adam crouched down and offered a hand to Mouse. "Pleased to meet you, Mouse." With a delicacy that surprised many people coming from such a large dog, Mouse sniffed at Adam's hand and then shoved a paw into it with no prompting from me. Adam had obviously passed whatever test it was that Mouse had set him, he very rarely acted like that. Adam gravely shook the paw, and laughed as the other paw was placed on his shoulder and Mouse licked his face. For the life of me I could have sworn that Mouse was smiling. Adam certainly was. "You're a long way from home, aren't you?" He said conversationally to my dog. Mouse had sat back down but was looking blissfully cross-eyed as Adam scratched his head. "Still, I suppose you end up where you're needed and I definitely agree with you that Harry needs a friend like you. You know, I probably knew one of your fore-fathers; I'm sure I can see a family resemblance." Mouse collapsed to the floor with a thump and rolled over on his back to have his belly scratched. It seemed that Adam Pierson could enchant Tibetan temple dogs as well as cats. I refused to even contemplate why; like I said, I still had trouble dealing with the immortal thing.

"Have you *quite* finished subverting my dog?" I asked him. He scrambled up from the floor and perched on a stool.

"I was only saying hello," he said with a disarming smile. "You are very lucky to have Mouse to guard your back. As a wizard you couldn't ask for a more loyal, and useful, brother in arms." It struck me then that he knew a great deal more about Mouse's potential than I did. I resolved to pick his brains later, when Mouse was out of earshot. It didn't seem right to discuss him when he was lying right beside me.

"So what brings you to Chicago? You haven't been getting up to more weird stuff have you?" I punctuated the sentence with my best approximation of sword-like noises. There was a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort from McAnally's direction, but when I glanced upwards, his expression was as bland as usual. Adam had no such compunction and rolled his eyes as he shook his head, grinning.

"Not this time. I had an appointment with a 3000 year old sarcophagus and its contents. I needed a bit of live company and some liquid refreshment after that so I ended up here. I'm heading back out tomorrow." He sighed. "Can't be soon enough for me, I *really* hate Chicago in winter. Even soggy England is preferable to this place."

"At least the beer's good," I offered. Adam did have a point about Chicago being miserable in winter.

"There is that," he agreed. "And there's the company too." Another two bottles miraculously appeared on the bar, followed by a third at a gesture from Adam accompanied by a bowl. I frowned at him. "It's for Mouse," he explained. I glanced down at my very hopeful looking dog.

"Just one," I said, caving in under the influence of soulful brown eyes and the merest hint of wagging tail. "He's underage."

So we celebrated the longest night with beer and good company, accompanied by the snores of one very happy dog. And for the first time in what seemed like forever, I *felt* the return of the light into the world. I was still smiling when I woke up, with a 5000 year old guy called Methos by my side, but that's another story.


End file.
